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Program Overview

About the Program

With support from Western Economic Diversification Canada, BANFF Spark offers training, mentorship, and investor connections to women entrepreneurs ready to grow or launch their own businesses in the screen-based industries. At its core, the program has a strong mandate to champion diversity and is designed to advance gender equality across the media sector, bolstering the economic success of all women, including women of colour, Indigenous women, women with disabilities, LGBTQ2+ women, and non-binary individuals.

It is estimated that just a small fraction of the media-based businesses in Canada are owned and operated by women. BANFF Spark will address this systemic gap in gender equality and representation by providing essential opportunities and resources to help build significantly more women-owned and women-led businesses that excel both domestically and across the global media industry.

BANFF Spark will provide selected candidates from Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia with a hands-on business planning curriculum, facilitated networking opportunities, mentorship, and access to potential strategic business partners through regional workshops in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, as well as a tailored stream of programming at the 2020 Banff World Media Festival.

What to Expect

BANFF Spark will feature a curriculum designed to address the core components of business development, including: financial strategy, market positioning, operations, and leadership. All program participants will receive:

A one day regional workshop taking place in either Vancouver, Calgary, or Toronto in Fall 2020;

One-on-one mentorship from an industry expert;

Instructional and informational sessions augmented by networking events with potential partners and collaborators at the 2020 Banff World Media Festival;

A full-access pass to the 2020 Banff World Media Festival, a leading 4-day international industry conference and marketplace that provides a platform for the evolving media industry to develop its creative and business objectives ($1695 CAD Value);

A $1500 CAD travel stipend to attend the 2020 Banff World Media Festival;

Supplementary resources/course materials;

A dedicated online peer networking community;

Access and visibility within the Canadian and global media industry.

* BANFF Spark is a not-for-profit program; no capital funding is provided and we do not take equity in your comapny.